B2B Influencer Marketing Trends in 2025 (and What's Next in 2026)
Influencer marketing isn't just for B2C. Reputable B2B companies are getting serious results from working with the right voices in their space.
2025 is different. AI has changed how we find creators and LinkedIn has become the undisputed king of B2B social.
Why?
Trust matters more than ever. Buyers are tuning out traditional ads and tuning in to experts they follow.
In this article, we will cover five B2B influencer marketing trends right now, plus what you should be testing for 2026.
Let’s dive in.
The State of B2B Influencer Marketing in 2025
The numbers tell a clear story. According to Influencer Markeintg Hub the global influencer marketing industry is projected to hit $32.55 billion in 2025, up from $24 billion in 2024. That's massive growth from the $1.4 billion it was worth back in 2014.
For B2B specifically, 63% of tech buyers now trust social video content from industry experts when making purchasing decisions. That's huge. It means SaaS and tech brands are shifting budget from ads to credible thought leaders who actually influence their buyers.
5 Key B2B Influencer Marketing Trends for 2025
1. LinkedIn is Still the Powerhouse
LinkedIn delivers 2x higher conversion rates than other social platforms for B2B. That gap isn't closing anytime soon.
The real action is happening with micro-influencers and niche thought leaders. These aren't people with millions of followers. They're the ones driving real engagement in specific verticals like cybersecurity, DevOps, sales enablement, or whatever your space is.
This influencer marketing trend directly strengthens buyer trust and conversion rates in complex SaaS or enterprise deals, where credibility matters more than reach. Consistent engagement on LinkedIn shortens deal cycles by positioning your brand alongside trusted industry voices who already influence decision committees.
Takeaway: Go for credible voices in your niche over big follower counts. A consultant with 5,000 engaged followers beats a generic business influencer with 500,000 any day.
2. Podcasts and Newsletters Gain Traction
Consider that 43% of business decision-makers listen to podcasts weekly. These aren't background noises. People are actively choosing to spend time with these voices, and they are voices you can access.
Newsletters are crushing it too. Substack reported over 50 million active subscriptions in 2024. Unlike social feeds that people scroll through mindlessly, newsletters land in inboxes. People read them intentionally.
Partnering with trusted podcast hosts and newsletter writers increases message retention and brand recall, especially among senior decision-makers who avoid traditional ads. These channels help brands nurture awareness deeper into the funnel, leading to warmer, high-intent inbound leads.
Takeaway: Find podcast hosts or newsletter writers who own your vertical. One sponsored newsletter from a trusted source can outperform a dozen LinkedIn posts.
3. Measurement Tied to Pipeline, Not Vanity Metrics
Only 28% of marketers say they can effectively measure influencer ROI, as reported by HubSpot. That's a problem when you're trying to justify budget spend.
The shift is happening from impressions and engagement to pipeline influence. Smart B2B marketers are integrating influencer campaigns with their CRM and ABM platforms. They're tracking which influencer partnerships actually drive demos, trials, and revenue.
Shifting focus to CRM-linked attribution aligns marketing with revenue goals, giving leadership visibility into real ROI. This approach helps justify influencer spend to finance teams and improves forecasting accuracy for future campaigns.
Takeaway:Build attribution models that connect the dots. Use UTM tracking, integrate with your CRM, and tie influencer activity to actual pipeline. Your CFO will thank you.
4. Brand Safety, Compliance, and Trust Matter More Than Ever
75% of brands had at least one brand-unsafe exposure in their influencer campaigns last year. In B2B, where deals are complex and buying committees are large, one wrong association can kill trust.
Compliance matters too. Disclosure requirements aren't just for consumer brands. And in regulated industries, you need influencers who understand what they can and can't say.
Strong compliance and vetting processes protect brand equity and prevent costly reputation risks, especially in regulated industries. By working only with vetted, credible experts, brands maintain buyer confidence — a key factor in long B2B sales cycles.
Takeaway: Make sure to vet influencers carefully. Check their past content, understand their audience, verify their expertise.
5. AI is Changing Influencer Discovery-But Human Vetting Wins
AI tools can analyze thousands of creators in seconds. They'll tell you who has the reach, what their engagement rate is, who their audience is.
It still over-emphasizes vanity metrics.
It can't really tell if someone actually understands your product category.
It misses red flags that a human would catch immediately.
Combining AI discovery with human judgment improves influencer fit and campaign efficiency, reducing wasted spend on mismatched partnerships. This hybrid model ensures every collaboration drives real business influence rather than surface-level engagement.
Takeaway: Use AI to find potential partners, but always have humans make the final call on trustworthiness and fit.
Looking Ahead: What to Test for 2026
A few b2b influencer marketing trends that are worth piloting now before they become table stakes.
Employee advocacy programs are merging with influencer strategies. Your own team members can be your best influencers, especially in technical fields where authentic expertise matters.
Podcasts and niche communities will keep growing as distribution channels. Don't just think of LinkedIn posts. Think about where your buyers actually spend their time.
Deeper CRM integration is coming. The brands that figure out how to connect influencer data with their full marketing stack will have a major advantage.
Start small tests in these areas now. You'll be ahead of the curve in 2026.
How Cherry Lane Helps Brands Leverage These Trends
Most influencer marketing agencies are built for B2C. They think of Instagram and TikTok. Cherry Lane is different. We're built specifically for B2B SaaS and tech companies.
We're hands-on, not just a platform. Competitors give you a dashboard and wish you luck. We handle strategy, execution, and measurement end-to-end.
We prioritize credibility over reach. We handpick trusted voices in business. LinkedIn creators, podcast hosts, newsletter writers, and niche experts who influence your buyers.
We deliver measurable business outcomes. We tie campaigns to pipeline, traffic, and signups. Not just likes and impressions.
We think full-funnel. Influencer marketing isn't just for awareness. We integrate it into demand gen, community building, and even sales enablement.
